Sunday, November 17, 2013

Before we left Cagayan de Oro City, we had a lunch in
Barkadahan Grill. It’s located in the Plaza Divisoria. They offer Filipino
dishes, grilled food is the specialty. We Ordered Sinigang na Baboy(Tamarind
soup with pork and vegetables), Sinuglaw (Grilled pork belly and raw malasugui
fish soaked in vinegar), Pancit Canton (sauted noodles) and Sariwang Lumpia
(fresh vegetables spring rolls).

The crews in here are not so customer oriented ones. Not so
polite. There is animosity for us or it might be because we are speaking in
National Lanuage. My sisters know Ilonggo and Hiligaynon so they can understand
their language a bit but not much that’s why I let them do the ordering most of
the time. We didn’t order drinks we
opted for service water, when the crew served the food we told him that we need
4 glasses of service water. He just pointed the water dispenser. In manila even
it’s a self-service restaurant, service water is served together with the food.
Then if the customer wants more water he could just stand up and get the water
from the dispenser. That’s why I told my companion maybe this is a Japanese
restaurant that customers should serve themselves and even clean the table
before going out. So we just made fun of the situation instead.

We enjoyed the food sinigang na baboy,which tasted good. We
are fond of soup that’s why it was nice that it served hot and right for our
taste.

The sinuglaw is a coined words for sinugba at kinilaw. Sinugba means grilled and kinilaw is soaked with vinigar and other spices. It was not a pop for me. It’s really an extra
challenge for me trying raw food. Grilled pork belly tasted good but when it
was mixed with the fish couldn’t really eat it.

Pancit Canton tasted well when was still hot but when it was
cold, it was too salty.

All of us liked the Lumpiang sariwa specially the peanut
sauce, it made the spring roll stood out. The ingredients blended well.

The restaurant has a good ambiance and we noticed too many
are dining in.

Some convenience store in the DivisoriaPlaza
and even few citizens on the streets, were helpful they took time to talk to us
and guided us where we would go. One word that I loved to hear when we were
there was the world “Balik-balik” meaning balik kayo or come again.

Thanks Cagayanons for the wonderful experience. You taught
us too many lessons and that travel is all about, a learning experience.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

On our second night in Cagayan de Oro, we looked for a
signature restaurant in the city. The people we met on the streets told us,
Steve’s Barbecue, Tita Fannie’s or Barkadahan. We already tried Steve’s
Barbecue so we decided to try Tita Fannie’s. It’s a restaurant, which serves
Filipino dishes. My sister asked for their best seller. They recommended Liempo
de Lechon, it is a deep fried pork meat, tinolang malasugui, and Halo-halo sa
buko.

Liempo de Lechon is not a super pop for me; I can find it
here in Manila,
too many of this kind, although it tastes good too.

Liempo de Lechon

What I liked most was the tinolang malasugui, it’s a ginger
soup with fish, the taste of the fresh fish plus the ginger and some
ingredients blended well.

Tinolang Malasugui

The Halo-halo was not too sweet, just right and i loved it that way. We learned that
the ingredients of it were cooked from the scratch; they don’t use the
commercial ingredients that can be bought from the grocery.

Halo-halo

It’s a plus point that their crews are friendly and
accommodating. They can speak in our National Lanuage, Filipino or Tagalog with
ease. Forget about the accent, it doesn’t matter as long as we can understand
each other. We dined in, in some restaurants but some were rude, I even tried
to speak in international language but still they spoke in their own language. I
don’t take that against them they are just like that; maybe they just wanted us
to learn their language fast. LOL that’s part of the adventure. This branch has a
free wifi internet connection too although we couldn't connect because too many diners at that time.

While we were engrossed talking about our experiences for
the tour, our attention caught by a voice then when we looked at the counter
bar, there was a guy serenading the diners while his companion roaming around
to ask for some donation.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Usually when we are in a short
trip, we see to it to look for the best restaurants that serve the local
delicacies, which we can try. The taxi driver we hired for Bukidnon trip
suggested that we should try Steve’s Barbecue. It was established in the year
1977. One of the old restaurants in the province. As the name of the restaurant says, their
specialty is grill food. I asked the waitress what their best seller she said
the grilled ones, so we ordered breast part of the chicken or locally known as
“pitso”. The meat was cooked till the bones and juicy. The meat is marinated
well. The perfect dip is the usual mixture of lemon, soy sauce and chili pepper
or “siling labuyo”.

After the brunch (breakfast and
lunch), we proceed to the adventure of the day, DahilayanAdventurePark in Bukidnon. Here we
come.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

My
sister and I joined a postal heritage tour last month. Part of the tour was
dropping by at The Manila Collectibles Co., a
cultural gift store. I asked the sales clerk among the spread that they have
what is the bestseller; she said the Tsokolate con Crema. I bought one bottle
for 200.00 pesos. I got curious would it be like chocolate spread like what we
have in the grocery store?

When we reached the house I tried it right away. It is creamy with a chocolate taste but it tastes more of a coco spread. If you could try the coco spread from Bicol region it is like of that. The Tsokolate con Crema is good for those who have sweet tooth. Chocolate spread the Filipino way.

Friday, November 8, 2013

The first thing one would notice
when entering or leaving Ligao, Albay is the array of stores selling native
delicacy like rice puto stuffed with different flavors, Pandan or Macapuno. I
wanted to try it when we were on our way to Sorsogon but we were in a hurry to
reach camalig that’s why when we were returning back to Manila, I didn’t want
to miss the rice puto and Sinapot of Ligao, Albay, that’s why even we were
still full, we dropped by.

Sinapot/Baduya

We bought makapuno (another
variety of coconut which has a soft coconut meat) and pandan flavored rice puto.
It is a steamed cake made of rice flour stuffed with fruit jam. Each pack has
two rice puto, the price for Macapuno flavored is 3 packs for 20 while the
pandan flavor is 7 pesos per pack.

Sinapot or Banana fritters in
Bicol is different from the rest of the country because the banana used is
usually not too ripe plus rice flour instead of wheat flour to keep the banana
cuts intact plus there is no sugar sprinkled, just the natural sweet of banana.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Road trip going to southern part
of Luzon is really fun; it’s like a food trip
too. Dropping by in different restaurants to stretch out, rest and address the
call of nature. Last weekend we had the chance to do road trip to Bicol because
it was a long weekend for All Soul’s Day and All Saints’ Day. We missed the
food cooked in coconut cream, that’s what Bicolano food is all about. As we
were leaving Ligao, Albay I saw an array of stores selling Rice Puto, Banana
Fritters (Sinapot for Bicolanos or Maruya for Tagalogs), I wanted to buy some
but we were in a hurry to reach Camalig for our late lunch, sort of hungry, to
try the Bicol Pinanagat. This Bicol dish is made of taro leaves, coconut milk
and selected spices wrapped in a packet style. .

There are two varieties of it, Chilly and the
regular one (not chilly). I ordered right away each one of the variety but
there was no regular one available. We just tried the chilly and of course the
bicol express, which is a shrimp paste and pork cooked in rich and creamy
coconut cream. It was a worth wait for a lunch, we had a great time indulging
in food cooked with rich and creamy coconut milk.

Pinangat

While we were enjoying the beach
in Bulusan, Sorsogon called DancalanBeach. Somebody told us
that there is another Pinangat in Camalig that is stuffed with crab we just
have to ask for the restaurants about it. That’s why when we were on our way
back to Manila
we dropped by again in Camalig. We looked for that another variety of pinangat,
the waitress said it is called Inulukan. Uluk in local dialect means crab. The
pinangat with the same ingredients is stuffed with crab meats, which have made
the Inulukan different from other pinangats. It is wrapped smaller than the usual pinangat they have. We ordered inulukan and the ordinary pinangat together with the bicol express and squid cooked in coconut cream. The price for each pinangat is P40.00 pesos.

Bicol Express and Squid with coconut cream

I tried other pinangats in Bicol
or even in Manila,
but the pinangats in Camalig so far is the best one. Camalig is said to be the
home of pinangat, they stand by that name. Put it on your list when u happens
to visit Bicol Region.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

One Sunday we visited the
National Museums then attended the Pasyal Intramuros. We both enjoyed the two
events. It was tiring and at the same time refreshing to rediscover our
heritage. Our feet ached so we decided to have a snack in Barbara’s Heritage Restaurant.
It is one of the participating restaurants in the Pasyal Intramuros event,
that’s why they have chairs and tables on the street outside their restaurant.

My coworkers were encouraging me to get a deal of buffet in this restaurant but I was hesitant. They serve authentic Filipino and Spanish dishes. My sisters and I enjoyed the food, Palabok, Ginataan and Pesto Pasta. One of my sisters told me to purchase a buffet deal so that we can enjoy their food more. The price of their food is not expensive at all, just right. Those who want to attend the Pasyal Intramuros or simply want to explore Intramuros you can purchase a deal or just drop by to have a snack in this restaurant. You will not be disappointed it’s a nice and cozy restaurant. They have a cultural show at night too; the diners can enjoy the show which highlighting the Filipino culture through dance, music and food.

Friday, November 1, 2013

My sister has been craving for
paella especially the arroz valenciana. She was asking me to cook but the
ingredients are more expensive than indulging it in a restaurant. I invited her
instead to Guernica’s branch in SM City
Sucat, Paranaque
so we went there. This restaurant was founded in 1955 by a Spaniard came from Guernica, Spain,
where the name of the restaurant was derived. It is one of the Philippines’
First and Finest Restaurants.

Paella negra caught my attention so I ordered it; I got curious why it is named as such. We ordered Churros and Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp in Garlic). My other sister told me that I know now where to buy the yummy Churros, she really liked it because it blended well with the chocolate. The Gambas al Ajillo tasted so good, the herbs used complimented well the shrimp. It was our first time to try Paella Negra and we all are not into rice mixed with squid ink, it was just ok but for sure we will not order it again. We are planning to come back and try their other Paellas. The restaurant has wifi connection so diners can enjoy the food while browsing the net.

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